Improvement in sewing-machines



3 Sheets Sheet 1.

Patented Feb. 5, 1861.

J. M. SMlTH.

Sewing Machine.

N. Pmas. PhnwLnm rw -u. Washinglnn n.c.

I 38h tSh t2. J. M. SMITH. 68

Sewing Machine.

No. 31,334. Patented Feb. 5, 1861.-

N. PETERS, PhalwLMa n her. Washington. D. c

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. M. SMITH Sewing Machine; No. 31,334. Patented Feb. 5, 1861.

UNITE STATES PATENT twice.

JOSIAH M. SMITH, OF SOMERS, NIEHV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification.forming part of Letters Patent No. 31,334, dated February 5, 186i.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSIAH M. SMITH, of

Somers,in the countyof Westchester and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-' Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections, at right angles to each other, of a machine with all the 'seam-pressin g apparatus. Fig. 12 is an inverted plan of the foot of the presser.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in a hook of novel construction, so applied, in connection with two needles arranged to make the doublelooped stitclnas to serve the purpose of opening and extending the loops of the under or locking thread in such manner as to insure the passage through them of the perforatingneedle, and the purpose of forcing and holding back upon the under or locking thread needle the loops of the upper or perforating needle during such stages of. the stitch-making operation as is requisite.

It also consists in a presser operating upon the cloth or other material independently of the feed apparatus, with a percussive and sliding or rubbing action for the purpose of pressing, or, as it were, ironing, down the seam and compressing the threads together. This improvement is applicable to sewingmachines of various kinds, but with more especial advantage to machines which make their stitches by the enchainment of loops formed in one or more threads.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the bed of the machine.

A is the stationary arm, secured to or cast with the bed-plate in the usual manner.

B is the main shaft, arranged horizontally in fixed hearings below the bed-plate, furnished with a crank, B, for working the needles,and a can], B for working the feeding apparatus, which may be of any well-known or suitable kind.

The feeding device represented is of the kind known as a top feed, consisting of a toothed roller, 0, attached toa vertically-working slide, G, that is fitted to a guide in the arm A, and to which there is applied a heavy lever, 0 for the purpose of producing the necessary pressure on the roller to make it confine the cloth to the bed and bite it with sufficient force to move it along. The axle U of the said roller 0 is furnished with a ratchetwheel, 0 which has applied to it a pawl, D, which is fitted to a pawl-box, D, that is arranged to swing on the axle O; and the said pawl is connected by a rod, E, with one arm, F, of a horizontal rock-shaft, F, which works in fixed bearings attached to the hack of the stationary arm, and which has another arm, F to which is connected a rod, G, to which there is attached a cam-yoke, G, within which the cam B works. The revolution of the cam B with the main shaft produces, through the rod G and arm F an oscillating movement of the rock-shaft F, whose arm' F acts, through the rod E upon the pawl D, to produce the necessary intermittent movement of the ratchet-wheel (J axle O and feed-roller O. The

i length of the feed is varied byshifting the connection a of the rod E in the arm F of the rook-shaft.

H is the arm which carries the perforatingneedle 02, secured to'the vertical bar I, which is fitted to slide longitudinally through the bed A and through a guide-box, J, on the top of and a guide-box, J, below the bed. The said bar I derives the necessary reciprocating motion to operate the needle a from its connection by a connectingrod, 1, with the crank B on the main shaft.

K is the bar which carries the under or lock-' ing thread needle L, arranged to work horizontally close under the bed A in guides b I). This bar K is connected with the bar I by means of a connecting-rod, K, which, as the said bar I descends with the perforating-nee die, draws back the said bar K, with the under needle, and, as the bar I rises, drives forward the bar K, with the under needle, by which movements the two needles are made to enter the loops of each others thread in the same manner as in other machines of the same class, in which similar relative movements are produced by different means. Thevertical reciprocating movement of the bar I may be produced by its connection with a treadle below the bed. To provideiortheadjnstmentof the needle n to suit different.thicknesses of mate,- rial, the arm 11 is fitted to the bar I in such a manner as to be adjustable higher or lower, and secured thereto by a set-screw, H This arrangement for operating the needles constitutes the subject of my Letters Patent of February 7, 1860.

The needle L, which carries the locking thread, has an eye, 0, near its point, and another eye, f, near where it is attached to the bar, and a groove, 1), between the said eyes on the opposite side to that which works next the perforating-needle, all of which features are shown in the enlarged side view represented in Fig. 10, and with the exception of the projection c on the upper side, which will be presently explained, is substantially like the needles used in many other sewing machines which make the same kind of stitch. The

thread of this needle is shown in thedrawings in red color, and that of the perforating-needle ip blue.

Between the needle L and the thin plate d, which constitutes the portionotthe bed through which the perforating-needle it works, and close to that plate, there is arranged the hook M, for opening and extending the loops of the locking-thread. This book is made of a thin piece of steel plate, of a form which is clearly shown in Figs. 3, at, 5, 6, 7, S, and 9, having a notch, in, near its point, and an inclined projection, I, on the inside of its stem, near the bend. It is firmly secured to the upper end of a short upright shaft, g, which is fitted to a bearing in a plate, N, which is bolted to the bottom of the bed. To the bottom of this shaft 9 there is secured an irregular crossshaped piece, P, of whose four arms one, 1), is attached to the said shaft, another, 6, carries a small roller, 1', a third, j, is subject to the pressure of a spring, Q, (shown in Figs. 1 and 3,) secured to the plate N, and the fourth, 7c, is in range ofthe horizontal needle-bar K. The hook M operates in the following manner: At the time the perforating-needle n has completed its descent and the under needle, L, has completed its retiring movement the hook occupies the position shown in the top view, Fig. 4, where it is held by the spring Q keeping the roller in contact with the portion '1' of the horn It, which is secured to the needle-bar K. As'the needle-bar I rises with the needle 12 and the needle-bar K advances with the needle L, the straight portion 4" of the horn 1% passes the roller i, and the oblique portion 1' comes opposite to the said roller and allows the hook to be gradually moved in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 4 by the pressure of the spring Q upon the arm j of the piece I, which brings the hook to the position shown in Fig. 5, where it arrives just after the point of the needle n has entered the loop of the thread of the perforating-needle, and where itis arrested by the arm j of the piece P coming into contact with a fixed pin that is secured in the plate N. In moving to this position the hook serves as a guard to prevent the twisting of the loop of the perforating-needle thread, and as it arrives in the said position it presses the said loop back over the point of the needle L. The hook remains in this position for a very short time, but yet long enough for the needle L to have advanced so far into the loop as to prevent the possibility of the loop slipping off, and the continued advance of the needle-bar K brings the shoulder s on thesaid-bar against the arm k of the piece P, and so causes the hook to be thrown back'to the position represented in Fig. 6, in which position it arrives as the upper needle, n, completes its ascent and theunderneedle, L, completes its advance. Fig. 7

8 is an inverted plan, on a larger scale, corresponding with Fig. 6 in 'the position of the parts. As the needle-bar I commences to ascend again with the needle n, and the needlebar K commences to retire with the needle L, the spring Q forces the hook M back again to the position represented in Fig. 7, which is the same in which it is represented in Fig. 4, and the hook in moving to this position, during this stage of the operation of the needles, catches in its notch m the portion of the locking-thread which is between the cloth and the 7 eye 0 of the needle L, and draws it aside in the form of a loop, which it extends in the manner shown in the top view, Fig 7, and in the larger inverted plan View, Fig. 9. Just as the hook has completed this extension of the loop the point of the needle it passes down into it and the hook, immediately retiring while the needle continues its descent, leaves the locking-thread in the form of a loop around the needle n and the thread which lies beside it in the form of aloop. The hook, in thus retiring, moves at such a speed proportioned to the movements of the needles that the lockingthread is not left slack, but that the needle L, in retiring, draws the loop of that thread tight round the needle n. The hook,in retiringfrom the position shown in Figs. 7 and 9, arrives at that shown in Fig. 4 before the needle L has completed its retreat and the needle n has completed its ascent, but remains stationary till after such ascent and retirement have been completed and all the parts are in the condition shown in Fig. 4, when the repetition of the above-described series of movements of the needles and hook is commenced. In arriving at the position shown in Figs. 7 and 9, the inclined projection ion the hook comes into operation on the loop of the thread of the needle n which was left upon the needle L on the ascent of the former needle, and holds it back upon the needle L till the needle n has entered tween the top of the said projection 40 and a the new loop of the locking-thread. It will be understood that in the above'described operation the hook makes two distinct movements during one complete movement of the two needles back and forth---viz., from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5, back to that shown in Figs. 6 and 8. forward again to that shown in Figs. 7 and 9, which is the same shown in Fig. 5, and back again to that shown in Fig. 4.

The projection c on the top of the needle L, which is in such a position that its highest pointjust passes the line of motion of the needie a as the needle L completes its advance, operates in-the following manner: It may and does sometimes occur in sewing-machines of this class, using two needles, that the under or looking thread, after beingcarried into the loop of the upper thread, by reason of its becoming snarled, will fail to be drawn up tight between the needle and the cloth, and in such case it might, with an under needle of the usual construction, fail to be caught by the hook M. The projection 0, however, by passing under this portion of the locking-thread in case of such an occurrence, will raise the said portion to such a position that the hook will not fail to catch it; but except when such an occurrence takes place the projection c has no action whatever upon the thread.

t is a guide for the needle it, secured to the bottom of the bed A, and preventing the said needle being forced out of place by the needle L. S is a spool for supplying thread to the upper needle, a, attached to the top of the needle-bar 1.

T is a take-up spring, fitted to a slotted upright guide-rod, T, attached to the needle-arm H, for taking up the slack of the upper-needle thread.

U is the spool for supplying thread to the under needle, attached to the bottom .of the bed A.

V is a take-up spring, fitted to a. stationary slotted guide-rod below the-bed A, to take up the slack of the under-needle thread.

W is the presser, consisting of a flat footlike piece attached to or forming part of a lever, W, whose fulcrum u is attached to the lower end ot'avertical slide, W which is fitted close to the slide G in a guide in the end of the arm A. The said slide W has a projection, c, formed upon it to enter a slot, '0, in the slide 0, as shown in Fig. 11, which is a vertical section parallel with Fig. 2, and a spring, X, is applied within the said slot befixed bearing-piece, to, which projects from the arm Ainto the slot 1;. The said spring X, though applied within the slot of the slide 0, is entirely independent of the said slide, and acts only upon the slide W to press the foot W upon the cloth. The upper part of the lever WV is made with a hook, y, as shown in Fig. 1, to receive a pin, 00, attached to a small rigid arm, E, that is carried by the needle-arm H. Every time the needle-arm H rises with the needle n the pin or strikes the bend of the hook on the lever W, just before the ascent of the needle is completed, and lifts the said lever and the slide W thereby raising the foot W from the cloth. As the needle descends again the spring X forces down the slide W and the lever, and causes the foot to strike upon the seam with a hammer-like action,

and as the pin 00 continues to descend after the foot has come in contact with the cloth the said pin passes down the inclined face y of the inside of the book 3 and so causes the lever to move on its fulcrum and draw the foot over the seam with a sliding or rubbing action with an effect similar to that of ironing cloth, thereby pressing the two threads of the seam together in such a manner as to lock them more securely and make it more difficult to draw them out. This presser WV, though operating independently of the feed-roller, is raised with the said roller by the lever 0 for when the slide 0 has been raised a short distance the bottom of the slot 2) in the said slide comes in contact with the projection Q) on the slide W Fig. 12 exhibits the form of the face of the presser W and its relation to the needle. The parts is that which presses directly on the seam.

Whatl claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The hook M, constructed with an inclined.

ism, with a percussive and rubbing action, sub stantially as and for the purpose herein described.

' JOSIAH M. SMITH.

Witnesses:

J. W. CooMBs, S. H. WALES. 

